MLSE.......Raising season ticket prices by 2.5%

I myself don't think that the Raptor's or the Leaf's should be raising their ticket prices for season ticket holders but any margin! First they should be proving that their team can make the playoffs first then maybe consider raising the prices! I am a season ticket holder for the Raptor's and for years I have been sup[porting them win or lose and not making the playoffs!!! This is how they treat their loyal subscribers! I personally will be giving it serious thought on wether to renew my season tickets. I know that 2.5 % is not much of a raise but it is the principle of the matter more then anything else for both the Leaf's and the Raptor's!! They have not shown their fan loyal fan base that they intend doing any better next year in comparison to this year! The Raptor's are currently in 9th place and I don't see this going any higher with the talent that they have now and maybe before the season is over they may drop further in the standings!! Anyways what do Raptor fans feel about an increase in season ticket prices!!!

2. Even if the wins haven't come yet, MLSE has shown that they are willing to spend money in efforts of putting a winning team on the court. There tends to be a chicken & egg scenario played out between ownership and fans, especially of losing teams - owners tell fans to come out and support the team to raise revenue needed to invest in the roster, while fans tell ownership to spend the money to field a competitive team before they'll shell out their hard-earned money on tickets and merchandise. In this case, I think ownership has shown that they are serious about winning and spending whatever is necessary in an attempt to put a winning team on the court. MLSE has seriously increased their costs, so a 2.5% increase seems reasonable

you also have to remember how many season seat holders are rich, or given to companies...For many of them, the price increase is nothing...for companies especially, who can write so much crap off, or make the money back using the games as a way to network with clients and such. I'm obviously not suggesting that no real fans have season tickets, but that MLSE will not worry about losing a handful of the less "alpha" consumers/companies in a rich corporate market like Toronto.

In announcing the season-ticket increase, which was described as an “across the board inflationary increase,” MLSE president Tom Anselmi pointed to cost increases as driving the decision, while it was noted that in the past five seasons the Leafs ticket prices have been “essentially flat, with a net cumulative increase of .5 per cent,” while the Raptors have had a cumulative five-year decrease of 7.5 per cent.

Money shot:

If there is any group that has the moral high-ground, here, it is Raptors fans: they’ve kept home attendance in the upper half of the NBA despite two years of directionless management and a lockout.

So about all that’s left is to say God help the sports fan if the Leafs actually win anything.

You think the cost of mediocrity can be a kick in the pants? Wait until you see what the cost of success will be in Toronto.

That is an interesting point Matt. We always complain about the ridiculous prices for tickets of our losing teams, but imagine when (if) they become winning teams? I was looking into buying tickets for the San Antonio-OKC game in San Antonio, and the prices were pretty ridiculous for below average seats.

The 2.5 percent increase does not seem like too big of a deal though. They are not doing it because they believe their product to be more valuable, right?

2. Even if the wins haven't come yet, MLSE has shown that they are willing to spend money in efforts of putting a winning team on the court. There tends to be a chicken & egg scenario played out between ownership and fans, especially of losing teams - owners tell fans to come out and support the team to raise revenue needed to invest in the roster, while fans tell ownership to spend the money to field a competitive team before they'll shell out their hard-earned money on tickets and merchandise. In this case, I think ownership has shown that they are serious about winning and spending whatever is necessary in an attempt to put a winning team on the court. MLSE has seriously increased their costs, so a 2.5% increase seems reasonable

The relationship between cost-of-living increases cannot be so tight that they impact ticket prices. There are a 100 different ways to cover minor raises than raising ticket prices. We are owned by Rogers and Bell, who make substantial profits given their portfolios, and it's not a stretch to suggest they can cover such increases through other means.

IMHO, your #2 is BS, especially given who owns the Raptors. The bottom line is that the ticket price is not justified by the product on the court.

The relationship between cost-of-living increases cannot be so tight that they impact ticket prices. There are a 100 different ways to cover minor raises than raising ticket prices. We are owned by Rogers and Bell, who make substantial profits given their portfolios, and it's not a stretch to suggest they can cover such increases through other means.

IMHO, your #2 is BS, especially given who owns the Raptors. The bottom line is that the ticket price is not justified by the product on the court.

THIS

Speak to anyone from Rogers or Bell, listen to any MLSE board interview on sports radio-- they will all tell you that the purchase of MLSE was a media content buy. By controlling content the ability to make up needed financial increases could be made by increasing app prices by pennies, television ad prices by a couple dollars, etc. Being in a league where the gate is paramount (NHL) and being in a league where your other team is on a media desert island (NBA) upsetting your fanbase may make financial sense but the impact on the teams' media value makes it a bit ridiculous from my p.o.v.

EDIT: In other words, it's unnecessary bad press that may motivate people to change the channel rather than watching two crappy teams on TV.

No one said they shouldn't or couldn't increase revenue. The point is there are ways to raise prices without the negative PR impact. Should a company owned solely as content for TV devalue that content through negative PR? People watch things they like, if MLSE builds a reputation as a greedy corporation that owns mediocre teams what becomes the motivation to watch the television product? Yes, WE will still watch, go to games etc, but they only have to piss off a few thousand fans to negatively effect viewership, and advertising revenue. This scenario isn't an issue for the Leafs but it definitely could be for the Raps. So why take the risk?

The relationship between cost-of-living increases cannot be so tight that they impact ticket prices. There are a 100 different ways to cover minor raises than raising ticket prices. We are owned by Rogers and Bell, who make substantial profits given their portfolios, and it's not a stretch to suggest they can cover such increases through other means.

IMHO, your #2 is BS, especially given who owns the Raptors. The bottom line is that the ticket price is not justified by the product on the court.

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, I think they base their 'justification' on their spending (good or bad results), as opposed to the actual success of the team on the court. I can understand their logic, but it doesn't mean I agree with it! If all pro sports teams based their ticket prices on their results, we'd see a universally more fan/family-friendly product with many more packed stadiums, I'd be willing to bet!

You know what, I just deleted my post. I didn't have my browser maximized and so it was totally cut off. Once I maximized I saw he was wearing those leg coverings. Just try shortening your browser.. it was the funniest thing (looked like the biggest photoshop mistake ever) until I realized what I was seeing.

Did you guys watch the video with Leo, Matt, Jack and that other dude? Hilarious MLSE bullcrap.

You know what, I just deleted my post. I didn't have my browser maximized and so it was totally cut off. Once I maximized I saw he was wearing those leg coverings. Just try shortening your browser.. it was the funniest thing (looked like the biggest photoshop mistake ever) until I realized what I was seeing.

Did you guys watch the video with Leo, Matt, Jack and that other dude? Hilarious MLSE bullcrap.

oh man why did you delete it?? hehehe

I was going to get everybody to guess who was missing on that long promotional piece.